The president of Abilene Christian University has responded to the New York Times story on homosexuality at Christian colleges that I linked to last week.
ACU was one of the schools mentioned in the Times article. Its refusal to allow the formation of a Gay-Straight Alliance on campus last year was one piece of evidence in the case that Christian colleges are “suppressing” gay rights on their campuses.
ACU’s president, Phil Schubert, wrote an op-ed piece for the Sunday edition of Abilene’s local newspaper in response to the article. The full article is here if you are interested. For my part, I think it strikes the right tone of speaking the truth in love: “It is not for us to throw rocks and cast judgment. At the same time, we cannot condone behaviors that we believe do not honor God.” Twice in the article Schubert states that ACU is under the authority of Scripture, the implication being that it is not at liberty simply to make up or alter its position on this issue on a whim.
I appreciate the kind but firm stand on principle Schubert has taken in this controversy. I’m sure the attacks will continue to come his way, and he will need all the prayers he can get.
Thanks for posting this article; I read the NYT article from earlier, and wondered if there would be any response from the Christian colleges mentioned. I agree that the ACU president’s response was fantastic; it struck just the right tone.
It is great to see a Christian college standing-up for one of its values.